Timeline, 1861-2007, related to the Wildlife Conservation Society, founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society
1861 Central Park Zoo opened under City management1893 Brooklyn Zoo opened under City management
1895 New York Zoological Society chartered by New York State
1896 New York Aquarium opened at Battery Park, under City management
1896 William Hornaday appointed Director, Bronx Zoo
1897 Grant of Bronx Park South to New York Zoological Society
1897 First NYZS field expedition, Alaskan wildlife survey, commissioned by William Hornaday
1898 Construction of Bronx Zoo began, August 15th
1899 Opening of Zoo, November 8th
1901 Department of Animal Health organized at Bronx Zoo
1902 New York Aquarium transferred to NYZS management, Charles Townsend, director
1905 American Bison Society founded at meeting in Lion House, Bronx Zoo
1907 Bison shipped from Bronx for reintroduction at Wichita Range, Cache, Oklahoma
1909 William Beebe embarked on Pheasant expedition to Asia
1916 Animal Hospital facility opened, Bronx Zoo
1916 William Beebe founded Tropical Research field station in British Guiana, now Guyana
1923 William Beebe named Director, Department of Tropical Research
1926 William Hornaday retired as director, Bronx Zoo, succeeded by W. Reid Blair
1929 Education Department founded at Bronx Zoo
1934 Record bathysphere dive by William Beebe
1937 Death of William Hornaday
1940 Fairfield Osborn appointed President, New York Zoological Society
1941 African Plains exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo
1941 Children's Zoo exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo
1941 New York Aquarium, Battery Park, closed and demolished
1942 Retirement and death of Raymond Ditmars, first Curator of Reptiles, Bronx Zoo
1946 Jackson Hole Wildlife Park founded by NYZS in cooperation with Laurance Rockeller
1948 Conservation Division founded and launched as Conservation Foundation, with Fairfield Osborn as president of NYZS and Conservation Foundation until 1962
1949 Publication, Our Plundered Planet, best selling book by Fairfield Osborn
1950 Great Apes exhibit building opened, Bronx Zoo
1950 Alaska wildlife survey by Starker Leopold and Fraser Darling
1951 Wildlife survey initiated, East Africa parks and reserves
1956 Wildlife survey initiated, Brooks Range, Alaska
1957 New York Aquarium opened at Coney Island
1957 Dept. of Marine Biochemistry and Ecology founded at New York Aquarium
1962 Death of William Beebe, Trinidad
1962 William Conway appointed Director, Bronx Zoo
1964 New Aquatic Bird House opened, Bronx Zoo
1965 Institute for Research on Animal Behavior founded with Rockfeller University
1966 William Conway appointed General Director, New York Zoological Society
1967 Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences opened, New York Aquarium
1968 Queens Zoo opened under New York City management
1969 World of Darkness exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo
1969 Death of Fairfield Osborn
1971 Center for Field Biology and Conservation founded to support field program
1971 Institute for Research on Animal Behavior discontinued
1971 Closing of Simla Station, Trinidad
1972 World of Birds exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo
1974 Publication, Gathering of Animals: an Unconventional History of the New York Zoological Society, by William Bridges
1975 Wildlife Survival Center, St. Catherines Island, started
1979 Field program reorganized as Animal Research and Conservation Center
1984 Field program reorganized as Wildlife Conservation International
1985 JungleWorld exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo
1988 Central Park Wildlife Center reopened under NYZS management
1989 Elephant House, Bronx Zoo, reopens as Keith Johnson Zoo Center
1990 Conservation Foundation merged with World Wildlife Fund-U.S. under WWF name
1991 Cogeneration system, Bronx zoo, fully operational
1992 Queens Wildlife Center reopened under NYZS management
1992 William Conway appointed President, NYZS / Wildlife Conservation Society
1992 Large Bird House reopened as Administration West, new administration building, Bronx Zoo
1993 Prospect Park Wildlife Center, former Brooklyn Zoo, reopens under NYZS management
1993 Name changed from NYZS to NYZS / The Wildlife Conservation Society
1994 Name changed to Wildlife Conservation Society for all but legal purposes
1994 SeaCliffs exhibit opened, New York Aquarium
1995 Centennial of charter, New York Zoological Society
1995 Publication of Saving Wildlife: a Century of Conservation, edited by Don Goddard
1997 Central Park Children's Zoo reopens under WCS management, Sept 24
1998 Corporate name officially changed to Wildlife Conservation Society by act of legislature
1999 Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit opens, Bronx Zoo
1999 Great Apes exhibit building demolished, Bronx Zoo
1999 William Conway retires as president, Wildlife Conservation Society
2000 Astor Court, Bronx Zoo, designated landmark by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
2001 Steven Sanderson appointed president, Wildlife Conservation Society.
2003 Alien Stingers exhibit opens, New York Aquarium.
2003 Tiger Mountain exhibit opens, Bronx Zoo.
2004 Madagascar Exhibit groundbreaking, Lion House building, Bronx Zoo.
2004 "Bronx Zoo" name formally adopted for Bronx Zoo.
2005 Butterfly Garden opening, Bronx Zoo (May)
2005 Bug Carousel opening, Bronx Zoo (July)
2005 WCS ends participation in Wildlife Survival Center, St. Catherines Island, Georgia (December).
2006 Wild dogs exhibit opened, Bronx Zoo (June).
2007 Richard Lattis retired as Vice President and General Director, Living Institutions.
2007 Robert Cook appointed Vice President and General director, Living Institutions.
2008 Madagascar exhibit scheduled to open, Bronx Zoo (April).
Updated: 2006 May 2.
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